Establishing a Green Community Hub in West Gorton
Background
Groundwork was part of West Gorton Park’s development from the beginning, hosting community engagement activities throughout to ensure that the park’s creation was community-led. The park was officially opened in 2020, full of innovative features and a range of benefits for the community. Groundwork have been active in the area ever since, helping the community to establish a thriving hub for people and nature.
In 2023-24, after years of community activities and connection in the area, the park was a clear fit for the Northern Network initiative, an online and offline network connecting Green Community Hubs, people, organisations and communities involved in the grassroots development and delivery of Green Community Hubs across the North of England.
New features in West Gorton Community Park
Thanks to the hard work of local people, over the past few years the following outcomes have been achieved:
- The opening of a new sensory garden, the first sensory garden to be opened in the City of Manchester (out of 447 parks!)
- When several local residents said they didn’t know what the trees in the Park were, the Community Hub created way-markers to help visitors to the Park identify the tree species. The Tree Trail includes QR codes with more detailed information which will help give visitors to the park a greater knowledge of the nature on their doorstep.
Community Events
A major feature of an active Green Community Hub is community events. Members of the Friends Groups and others in the community have been empowered and encouraged over the years to use West Gorton Community Park as a space to celebrate and bring people together. Groundwork have helped the community make these ideas a reality; producing promotional materials, sharing tools such as tables and urns and running some activities on the day. Community events have included:
- Easter fun day at half term, encouraging families to come and use the space for a traditional Easter Egg hunt
- Autumn Festival, bringing together West Gorton residents, other community organisations and the Northern Network team
- Yearly Christmas lights switch on, including winter crafts and Santa giving presents to the children
Recently, our Postcode Gardener, Lizzie, has been bringing together communities in West Gorton and Belle Vue, with an aim to green 50 spaces across the two areas. So far, volunteers have taken part in planting activities and pollinator surveys.
Supporting local young people
When the community voiced their concerns about a lack of local activities for young people, we began running a Green Pioneers session at the park every Wednesday evening, giving local young people aged 14-17 the chance to learn about:
- Habitat restoration
- Wellbeing walks
- Delivering climate projects
This has given young people a chance to connect with their community and nature, as well as gaining an AQA certification to support them on their greening journey.
Summer Play Schemes
In Summer 2025, our Youth Team hosted free Play in the Park sessions at West Gorton over the 6 week holidays, funded by Manchester City Council. Young people aged 11-17 took part in sports activities, bike repair workshops, and nature games. West Gorton is among the wards with the highest rates of free school meal eligibility in Greater Manchester, so meals and snacks were also provided.
During this time, the team also recruited two young people from Gorton to assist with the youth programmes, giving them a chance to build up their experience.
Friends of West Gorton Community Park
While we helped to establish a Friends group in 2022, there have been some changes and challenges faced, as with all community groups, so Groundwork are facilitating a recruitment drive to get the group active again. The ‘Friends of West Gorton’ group volunteers run events throughout the year to support with the maintenance of the park and community connection. A Christmas tree lights switch on is being planned for November after successful events in previous years.
